A systematic review of plastic wastes as new adsorbents for dye removal in aqueous environments

The harmful impact of plastic waste on various ecosystems has become a growing concern for researchers worldwide. Plastics can absorb different pollutants, and because they carry these contaminants, they increase ecological risks in aquatic environments. However, the ability of plastic waste to adsorb pollutants presents a valuable opportunity for water treatment.

In this review, we explored several methods to synthesize carbon materials from plastic waste and assessed the effectiveness of recycled plastic as new adsorbents for removing dyes from water. We examined factors, such as salinity, pH, temperature, and physical–chemical properties, including particle size and surface area, to determine their effects on the dye adsorption efficiency of various plastics.

Among the plastics analyzed, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) emerged as the most effective adsorbent, exhibiting a surface area of 2,530 m²/g and the highest dye adsorption capacity of 2,874 mg/g. This study emphasizes that adopting a circular economy approach by recycling plastic waste to effective adsorbents can help reduce environmental pollution and result in significant cost savings. This strategy minimizes the need for virgin raw materials and lowers waste management expenses, making water treatment processes more sustainable and economically efficient.